The facade of the RS Exton and Co premises at 333 Ann Street.
Brisbane’s Shrine of Remembrance, dedicated on Armistice Day in 1930.
The Story Bridge, spanning Brisbane River, was built between 1935 and 1940.
The Masonic temple at Barcaldine was constructed in 1901.
My heritage place
All Saints Anglican Church at Tamrookum near Beaudesert is family-owned, built in 1915 as a memorial to Robert Martin Collins.
Media releases
Four Gympie places get State heritage listing
Four historic Gympie buildings, all former banks resulting from Gympie’s gold mining era, are the latest places to be entered in the Queensland Heritage Register.
Details of the buildings follow:
- Australian Joint Stock Bank (former)/Gympie Stock Exchange Offices and Club (former), 236 Mary Street, Gympie
- Queensland National Bank (former), cnr Channon Street and Nash Streets, Gympie
- Royal Bank of Queensland (former), 199 Mary Street, Gympie
- Bank of New South Wales (former), 242 Mary Street, Gympie
Queensland Heritage Council (QHC) Chair Professor Peter Coaldrake said the four buildings demonstrated the vital role played by financial institutions during Gympie’s gold mining boom.
“Gympie gold was a major contributor to Queensland’s wealth for some 60 years from 1867,” Professor Coaldrake said.
“The banks jointly were the conduit for directing the proceeds of gold mining from the goldfields to the banks in London.
“The location of these four places near Commissioner’s Hill, high above what were the early gold diggings and alongside other important gold-related buildings, illustrates the significance of banks to the Gympie goldfield.”
The former Queensland National Bank, which operated from 1877 until 1937, is the oldest remaining bank building in Gympie.
“As one of its earliest and most profitable locations, the Gympie branch was a major contributor to the growth of the Queensland National Bank institution in Queensland,” he said.
“It is one of only a few known 1870s commercial buildings remaining in Gympie that resulted from the success of shallow reef mining and the expectation of further gold discovery through deep reef mining.
Completed in 1882, the former Australian Joint Stock Bank was one of the biggest converters of gold into cash, demonstrating the vital role played by banks during the gold mining era.
“From 1902 to 1922, it served as the Gympie Stock Exchange Offices and Club and is a rare surviving remnant of one of the four stock exchanges that operated in Queensland during the 19th century while Queensland was a significant gold-producer,” Professor Coaldrake said.
“This building formed part of a gold-era precinct made up of a harmonious set of late Victorian commercial buildings dating from the 1880s and 1890s.”
The Bank of New South Wales was completed in 1891 and served as both a bank and residence for almost 50 years.
“Erected during the third stage of Gympie mining, this two storey neo-classical building was purpose-built as the Gympie branch of the Bank of New South Wales, which had been operating at the goldfield since March 1868,” said Professor Coaldrake.
“The building retains its banking chamber, offices, strong room, vaults and manager’s residence.”
The former Royal Bank of Queensland, built in 1982, is the longest serving of all the Gympie bank buildings functioning as a bank branch for 76 years from its opening until 1979.
“Erected during the third stage of Gympie mining, the former bank symbolised the wealth and permanence of the town,” Professor Coaldrake said.
“Designed by renowned architect and community leader, Hugo Du Rietz, the bank has an enormous streetscape presence set amongst the gold era buildings on Mary Street.”
The four buildings were identified as part of the statewide heritage survey being carried out by the Department of Environment and Resource Management’s Heritage Branch.
“The four buildings were all important for their architectural qualities expressed in their craftsmanship and detailing of joinery and finishes, and for their ‘streetscape’ value that complements other surviving 19th century buildings in the vicinity,” Professor Coaldrake said.
The Queensland Heritage Council is the state’s independent peak body and advisor on heritage matters and determines which places are entered in the Queensland Heritage Register.
Places entered in the Heritage Register are considered of importance to Queensland’s history and are protected under heritage legislation.